SPAWAR leader recognized by her peers

Carmela Keeney, 53, the civilian executive director at San Diego-based Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific, took home the Executive Excellence Award this fall from the Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Awards Corp. during the organization’s national conference in Florida.
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Carmela Keeney, 53, the civilian executive director at San Diego-based Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific, took home the Executive Excellence Award this fall from the Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Awards Corp. during the organization’s national conference in Florida.
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Carmela Keeney said she was surprised and honored upon learning she had won a prestigious national award that recognizes top executives.

It’s not that Keeney, 53, was being modest. She just didn’t know she was being considered.

Keeney, the civilian executive director at San Diego-based Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific, took home the Executive Excellence Award this fall from the Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Awards Corp. during the organization’s national conference in Florida. She was nominated by colleagues, who felt so strongly about her candidacy that they gathered endorsements from high-ranking officials to support the application.

“In the world of cyber space and information dominance, Carmela Keeney is a true national asset,” said Mary Lacey, deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for Research, Development, Test and Evaluation. “The ever-changing technological challenge she faces within information operations requires forward-thinking leadership to stay ahead of the threats to national defense. Carmela has the innate ability to inspire the innovative spirit within her people.”

Today, Keeney is the highest-ranking Senior Executive Service member on the West Coast. Members of the Senior Executive Service serve in key government positions just below top presidential appointees.

But it has been a long road to the top for the daughter of immigrants.

San Pedro native Keeney’s Italian father worked as a commercial tuna fisherman, and her Mexican mother bagged groceries. Neither parent finished high school, but they instilled in their six children a strong work ethic.

“They valued education,” Keeney said. “They taught us that education opened opportunities for you in the United States.”

As a youth, Keeney showed great promise in mathematics, so a family friend, who happened to be a nuclear engineer, encouraged her to pursue a career in engineering. Keeney went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a master’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of California Santa Barbara.

At age 47, she reached the pinnacle of her career, taking over as executive director at SSC Pacific in 2006. At SPAWAR, she is tasked with leading 4,300 civilian and military personnel and more than 2,000 contractor support personnel as they build technology that helps the Navy understand its environment.

“She’s a very inspirational lady,” said Celia Metz, SSC Pacific’s former director of corporate operations, who said she has known Keeney since 1986.

“I respect her background, being the daughter of immigrants. She is so smart and so thoughtful and is able to exercise excellent leadership and management skill, both drawing on her background as an engineer and her own personality, which is grounded and calm. She’s a great leader.”

Since taking over as executive director, Keeney has spearheaded an effort to connect with the community, SSC Pacific spokesman Jim Fallin said. In fiscal year 2012, staff members contributed about 10,000 hours of community service.

She has also expanded student internship opportunities, going from a couple programs to dozens, and beefed up recruiting efforts to include the area’s community colleges. Keeney has also launched outreach programs to encourage women and the Latino community to embrace science, technology, engineering and math education.

Women and Hispanics are underrepresented at SSC Pacific, because there aren’t enough role models, parents might not be encouraging their kids to pursue STEM classes and doors close quickly when students avoid those courses at an early age, she said. Once a student gets behind, it is difficult to make up the lost ground.

“In today’s economy, it’s where people should be going to school. We need more technical folks in our country,” Keeney said.

“I am very motivated to give back to the next generation. For me, it was almost happenstance that I had that family friend tap me on the shoulder and say, ‘You should consider engineering.’ ”